siemens

Nokia has completed the acquisition of Nokia Siemens Networks, eliminating Siemens' stake in the then joint-venture. Nokia now owns the company and has altered the branding to Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN - www.nsn.com). As well as the name alteration, there have been a handful of changes on the board of directors, but NSN will continue to operate with and be consolidated by Nokia. The price? A previous Nokia statement reported it as 1.7 billion euros.

Well, it looks like there’s some good news coming out of Finland tonight, as Bloomberg is reporting that Nokia has agreed to buy out the half of the joint-venture from Siemens. Nokia-Siemens Networks had been losing money until recently and Siemens had wanted to get away from the deal, so it’s not too much of a surprise that Nokia would pick up the now profitable division.

The sale price is reportedly “less than 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion)” and Nokia will use a bridge loan to help finance the purchase, in a deal that some investors will welcome while others may frown upon due to the tight purse strings already at the struggling smartphone maker.

Now, Finnish national broadcaster, YLE, is reporting that Nokia’s Board of Directors have been summoned to Finland for a meeting on Wednesday and some were even on standby for a carryover meeting on Thursday. YLE notes that they were “…preparing key decisions on the future of the company”, which are expected to be finalized by the July 18th interim report from the company.

From the tone of the article, this does not sound like a normally-scheduled meeting, but rather impromptu, signaling something perhaps more dramatic ocurring behind the scenes.

It has been reported that Siemens has approached several private equity firms to gauge interest in purchasing its Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) venture. Potential buyers are said to include TPG, Blackstone Group and KKR & Co, according to the Wall Street Journal. The paper notes the venture could be worth as much as $9.36bn and would be an attractive prospect for public investors. The FT reported back in January that the business would look to raise €700 million.

Both Nokia and Siemens have a joint venture branded Nokia Siemens Network, which provides telecoms equipment in a number of supported markets. According to those familiar with future plans, Nokia Siemens Networks plans to raise as much as €700 million from public markets in spring 2013. This is said to help write off current debt while funding required investment.